622.33 
oa33r I 

DWE'N 

EX'.   5t  OF  R_.  -tfT  ON  PRQ- 

RT  IES  OF  ,  .E  SALINE  COAL 

CO.  AMD  01  THE  RTHA  IRON 

,  PROPERTIES 


LIBRARY  OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
AT  URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 


EXTRACTS 


FROM  THE  REPORT  OF 

DR.  DAVID  DALE  OWEN 

ON  THE  PROPERTIES  OF  THE 

SALINE  COAL  COMPANY 


LOCATED  IN 


GALLATIN  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS, 

(ABOUT  6  MILES  SOUTH  OF  SHAWNEETOWN,) 


AND  THE 


MARTHA  IRON  PROPERTY 


LOCATED  IN 


HARDIN  COUNTY. 

(ABOUT   18  MILES  SOUTH  OF  SHAWNEETOWN.) 


ACREAGE  OF  THE  SALINE  COAL  COMPANY. 

Land  owned  in  fee,  about  3,262  acrez 

Mineral  rights,  1,760  acres 

Total,  5,022  acres 

ACREAGE  OF  THE  MARTHA  IRON. 

In  fee,  1,000  acres 

Mineral  rights,  2,880  acres 

Total,  3,880  acres 

For  information  respecting  these  properties,  apply  to  * 

C.  E.  JACKSOX, 

MlDDLETOWN,   CONN. 


I 


6^2.33 


EXTRACTS  FROM 

Dr.  David  D.  Owen's  Geological  Report 

ON  THE  LANDS 

-  OF  THE  - 

SALINE   COAL   COMPANY. 


The  lower  coal  measures  of  the  Saline  have  a  vertical  thick- 
ness of  about  850  feet,  extending  from  the  conglomerate  of 
Dutton  Cliff  to  a  sandstone,  which  forms  a  conspicuous  mem- 
ber, capping  the  hills  above  the  Chamberlin  mine,  and  gener- 
ally known  throughout  this  country  by  the  name  of  the 
"Anvil  Rock." 

In  a  vertical  height  of  112  feet,  extending  from  the  base  of 
Anvil  Rock  to  within  twenty  feet  of  high-water  mark,  there 
are  embraced  three  workable  beds  of  coal.  Their  thickness 
and  relative  distance  apart  will  be  seen  by  the  following  section: 

ist.       Coal  under  the  Anvil  Rock,  or  Chamberlin  Coal,     -     3  ft.  9  in. 

Space,     -         -         - 45  ft. 

2nd.      Coal  under  the  Anvil  Rock,  or  middle  bed,     -         -     3  ft.  2  in. 

Space,     -         -         -         -         -         -         -         -         -  54  ft.  7  in. 

3rd.      Coal  under  the  Anvil  Rock,  main  Saline  or  Wood- 
ward Coal, -     5  ft.  2  in. 


in  ft.  8  in. 


From  the  five  feet,  or  main  coal,  down  to  the  bed  of  the 
Saline,  below  the  Fish  Dam  in  Sec.  34,  T.  10,  R.  9,  about  one 
mile  south  of  the  Woodward  opening  into  the  five  feet  bed,  the 
vertical  height  is  223  feet. 


This  space  includes  two  more  workable  beds,  and  a  third 
which  is  probably  2^  feet  thick,  besides  two  other  thin  beds. 
The  thickness  and  distance  apart  of  these  coals  is  given  below: 

MAIN,  OR  FIVE  FEET  COAL. 
Space,     -         -         -         -         -         -         -         -         -         -98  ft. 

Coal  struck  in  well  below  the  Woodward  opening,  -         -  2  ft.  6  in. 

Space, -         -  29  ft.  8  in. 

Coal, 4  in. 

Space,     ---                                                        -         -  54  ft. 

Coal, 3  ft. 

Space,     -        - 32  ft. 

Coal, 4  ft. 


223  ft.  6  in. 

There  is  said  to  be  still  another  thin  seam  of  coal  in  these 
measures,  between  the  five  feet  coal  and  the  coal  struck  in  the 
bottom  of  the  well,  about  50  or  60  feet  below  the  main  coal. 
This  is  on  the  authority  of  the  man  who  dug  the  well,  who 
communicated  the  fact  to  Mr.  Samuel  Casey. 

The  last,  or  four  feet  coal,  crops  out  in  the  bed  of  the  Saline 
on  its  east  bank  below  the  Fish  Dam,  9^  feet  above  low 
water  of  the  Ohio.  Thus  in  a  vertical  height  of  335  feet,  and 
a  horizontal  distance  of  1,830  feet,  these  two  sections  on  the 
Saline  have  been  obtained,  in  which  no  less  than  five  workable 
beds  of  coal  crop  out  between  the  base  of  the  Anvil  Rock  and 
low  water.  The  united  thickness  of  these  five  beds  of  coal  is 
from  19  to  20  feet,  and  this  does  not  include  the  2^  feet  coal, 
nor  any  of  the  thin  interstratified  seams. 

For  the  quality  of  these  coals,  I  refer  you  to  the  table  of 
chemical  analyses,  made  since  I  returned  from  the  Saline  mines 
to  my  laboratory. 

Assuming  the  data  arrived  at  by  Johnson,  Hayes,  and  Rogers, 
from  experiments  performed  by  them  on  coals  of  nearly  the 
same  chemical  composition  as  your  main  five  feet  coal,  the 
practical  properties  of  that  coal  may  be  thus  expressed.  The 
weight  of  a  solid  cubic  foot  will  come  within  a  fraction  of  80 
pounds,  but  broken  'in  lumps,  only  about  48  pounds.  To  stow 
a  ton,  it  will  require  about  46  cubic  feet  of  space.  When  burn- 
ing about  eight  pounds  of  coal  per  hour  on  a  square  foot  of 
grate,  it  will  require  45  to  50  minutes  to  bring  a  boiler  into 


full  and  steady  action,  while  the  semi-bituminous  coals  require 
nearly  an  hour  and  a  half,  the  semi-anthracites  two  hours  and 
a  half,  and  the  anthracites  over  three  hours  to  accomplish  the 
same  effect. 

It  will  evaporate  thirteen  and  three  quarter  cubic  feet  of 
water  per  hour.  For  every  pound  of  coal  consumed,  it  will 
produce  eight  and  a  half  pounds  of  steam  at  212  degrees,  one 
cubic  foot  of  coal  will  furnish  about  440  to  450  pounds  of  steam. 

For  completeness  of  combustion,  it  takes  a  rank  above  the 
average,  there  being  only  about  7  to  8  per  cent,  of  waste,  in  the 
form  of  ashes,  cinder  and  coke. 

For  rapidity  of  ignition,  it  takes  a  high  rank,  being  six 
times  greater  than  that  of  anthracite,  and  about  twice  that  of 
semi-bituminous  coals. 

The  coals  belong  to  the  dry  and  not  very  adhesive  varieties 
of  fat  or  soft  free-burning  bituminous  coals,  such  as  occur  in 
the  coal  basins  of  Scotland  and  Yorkshire. 

For  evaporative  power,  under  equal  weights,  they  will  rank 
along  with  the  Liverpool,  Newcastle,  Scotch  and  Yorkshire 
coals,  and  the  three  and  five  feet  beds,  and  perhaps  the  four 
feet  beds,  seem  to  be  equally  well  adapted  for  furnace  opera- 
tions and  manufacturing  purposes  generally,  as  far  as  can  be 
judged,  by  a  comparison  of  their  respective  chemical  constit- 
uents. 

The  three  upper  beds  of  coal  underlie  the  lands  of  the  Saline 
Coal  and  Manufacturing  Company,  situated  on  Sections  7,  18, 
20,  21,  22,  23,  26  and  27,  T.  10,  R.  9,  comprising  an  area  of 
2,840  acres. 

It  is  probable  that  the  five  feet  bed  may  be  found  also  on 
Sections  17  and  20,  T.  10,  R.  9. 

Putting  the  united  thickness  of  the  three  upper  beds,  under 
the  Anvil  Rock,  at  eleven  feet,  and  the  number  of  acres  over 
which  these  beds  extend  on  your  land,  at  2,840,  and  the  weight 
of  a  cubic  foot  of  solid  coal  at  80  pounds,  which  is  the  weight 
of  a  coal  having  a  specific  gravity  of  1,282  within  a  fraction, 
the  yield  would  be  108,865,152,000  pounds  or  54,432,576 
tons,  or  1,360,814,400  bushels,  allowing  25  bushels  to  the  ton. 
Throwing  off  one-fourth  for  waste  and  slack,  this  would  still 
leave  40,824,432  tons;  this  at  a  profit  of  four  cents  per  bushel 
or  $1.00  per  ton,  would  equal  amount  of  tons  in  dollars. 


By  sinking  shafts  from  200  to  236  feet,  the  two  other  beds 
of  coal,  under  the  five  feet  bed,  could  be  reached  over  the 
same  sections  of  land,  which  would  yield  more  than  half  as 
much  more  coal. 

But  this  is  by  no  means  the  total  amount  of  coal  lands  in  the 
Company's  property.  Still  beneath  the  four  feet  bed,  there 
are  numerous  other  beds,  three  and  perhaps  four  of  which  are 
workable;  these  beds  could  also  be  reached  by  shafts  extending 
from  three  to  six  hundred  feet,  under  the  four  feet  bed  on  the 
east  side  of  the  Saline;  but  on  the  west  side,  they  rise  rapidly 
towards  the  surface  by  reason  of  the  northeasterly  dip,  and  can 
be  reached  in  succession,  at  or  near  the  surface,  in  a  space  of 
less  than  one  mile  included  between  the  Fish  Dam  on  the  Saline, 
and  the  Button  Cliff,  on  the  southwest  quarter  of  Section  2, 
T.  ii,  R.  9. 

I  subjoin  my  measurements  of  thickness  and  intervening 
spaces,  taken  where  there  is  the  best  opportunity  of  studying 
them  in  detail. 

FOUR  FEET  COAL,. 

Space,         - 95  to  100  ft. 

Curies  coal  with  clay  partings,     -         ...  i  ft. 

Total  coal, 2  to      2  ft.  6  in. 

Space, 1 20  to  140  ft.  6  in. 

Ice-house  coal,    -         -         -         -         -         -         -  2  ft.  6  in. 

Space,          ....        jflHHi:       -         -  Io°  ft- 

Bell's,  3  to      4  ft. 

Space, 75  ft. 

Cook's  coal,         -         -         -         -         -         -         -  3  to      4  ft. 

The  last  in  the  section  (Cook's  coal)  lies  some  30  or  20  feet 
above  the  top  of  the  conglomerate,  which  caps  the  millstone- 
grit  series.  This  rock  contains  still  another  bed  of  coal,  seen 
in  the  bluffs  on  the  Ohio  River,  at  various  places  between  the 
mouth  of  the  Saline  and  Battery  Rock.  Its  thickness  is  vari- 
able, but  usually  in  these  bluffs,  26  inches.  This  is  the  coal 
of  Battery  Rock  and  the  Union  Mines  of  Livingston  County, 
Kentucky. 

These  lower  coals,  including  the  three  and  four  feet  beds, 
are  accessible  over  an  area  of  about  5,720  acres.  Putting  their 
united  thickness  at  eighteen  feet,  and  the  weight  of  a  cubic 
foot  at  80  pounds,  the  yield  would  be  358,795,308,000  pounds, 
equal  to  179,389,504  tons,  or,  4,484,937,600  cubic  feet  or 


bushels  of  80  pounds,  which  is  four  pounds  over  the  legal 
standard.  Throwing  off  one- fourth  for  waste,  slack,  etc.,  and 
allowing  a  profit  of  three  cents  per  bushel  on  this  coal,  as 
being  less  accessible  than  the  upper  beds,  we  still  have  $100,- 
911,084. 

In  this  calculation,  I  have  not  included  the  numerous  thin 
coals  interstratified  in  these  measures.  The  vertical  diagram, 
together  with  the  geological  section  accompanying  this  report, 
from  the  highest  coal  of  the  Saline  Mines  to  the  conglomerate 
of  Button's  Cliff  presents,  in  one  connected  view,  the  details  of 
this  stratification. 

Many  of  the  intervals  occupied  by  shales,  include  also  iron- 
stones. I  would  here  especially  call  attention  to  five  of  these 
spaces,  filled  with  shales,  including  iron-stones,  the  twelve  feet 
of  space  over  the  four  inch  coal,  the  shales  under  the  Curlew 
coal,  the  shales  over  the  ice-house  coal,  the  shales  above  and 
below  the  five  feet  coal,  and  the  shales  under  the  building  stone, 
and  between  it  and  the  shales  that  cover  the  two  inch  coal 
overlying  Bell's  coal.  The  three  first  of  these  are  probably 
the  most  important  receptacles  of  iron-stones  on  the  property 
of  the  Saline  Coal  Company. 

The  ores  included  in  these  spaces  are  principally  carbonates 
of  the  protoxid  of  iron,  more  or  less  bituminous,  and  contain- 
ing variable  quantities  of  earthy  matter. 

The  best  section  exposed  of  the  shales  overlying  the  four 
inch  coal,  is  in  the  bank  of  Turkey  Creek,  near  its  confluence 
with  Saline  Creek,  on  Section  20,  T.  10,  R.  9. 

In  a  space  of  12  to  14  feet,  immediately  over  the  four-inch 
coal  exposed  on  that  stream  there  are  no  less  than  five  bands 
of  carbonate  of  iron,  amounting  in  all  to  from  14  to  17  inches 
in  thickness. 

1st.    Carbonate  of  iron, 2^  in. 

Black  shale, 2  ft.  6*4  in. 

2nd.  Carbonate  of  iron,  from  4  to  6      in. 

Black  shale, -  6  ft. 

3rd.    Carbonate  of  iron, 3      in. 

Black  shale,                                                   -         -         -  I  ft. 

4th.    Carbonate  of  iron,          -  3       in. 

Black  shale,                                                                    •  4  ft. 

5th.    Carbonate  of  iron,  2      in. 

Black  shale,  2  to 3       in. 

Coal,     -                                     4      in. 


At  this  locality  tons  of  carbonate  of  iron  might  be  collected 
at  present  in  the  bed  of  the  creek,  which  have  fallen  out  from 
the  disintegrating  shales. 

All  the  heads  of  the  branches,  and  many  of  the  ravines  on 
the  east  side  of  the  Saline,  between  the  mouth  of  Turkey  and 
a  point  opposite  the  Chamberlin  Tip,  show  debris  of  these  iron- 
stones, washed  out  from  the  shales,  extending  over  the  greater 
part  of  Section  20.  It  is  also  to  be  remarked,  in  regard  to  this 
locality  that  there  is  very  little  earthy  covering  over  the  shales, 
so  that,  in  many  places  five  or  ten  feet  of  stripping  would 
suffice  to  lay  bare  the  iron  ore.  I  found  large  quantities  of 
the  same  kind  of  ore  amongst  the  loose  rocks  in  Round  Hill 
branch,  above  where  the  four  inch  coal  is  exposed  which  proves 
the  existence  at  this  localit}',  also,  of  the  same  bands  of  cal- 
careous iron-stones,  disseminated  in  the  shales  occupying  this 
geological  horizon  on  the  north  side  of  the  Saline;  these  can  be 
reached  also  in  many  places,  between  the  Chamberlin  Mine  and 
Round  Hill,  from  15  to  20  feet  under  the  subsoil  of  the  bottom 
land  skirting  the  base  of  these  hills. 

For  analysis  of  iron  ores,  refer  to  accompanying  table.  This 
ore  is  essentially  a  carbonate  of  the  protoxid  of  iron,  which  is 
capable  of  yielding  from  27  to  28  per  cent,  of  metallic  iron.  If 
these  bands  of  carbonate  of  iron  are  coextensive  with  the 
shales  overlying  the  four  inch  coal,  which  there  is  every  reason 
to  believe  from  the  data  already  furnished,  this  deposit  of 
stratified  ore  is  sufficient  in  itself  to  supply  a  furnace. 

With  this  description  of  ore  may  be  classified  an  ore  which 
we  discovered  on1  the  south  side  of  the  Saline  nearly  opposite 
the  sawmill.  To  prove  the  quantity  of  this  ore,  a  pit  was  sunk 
to  the  depth  of  six  or  eight  feet  in  the  shales,  and  the  iron- 
stones being  taken  out  and  thro\vn  into  one  pile,  and  the  bed- 
ding shale  being  pitched  to  itself  in  another  heap,  in  the  first 
four  feet,  the  whole  excavation  was  estimated  to  yield  from 
one-fourth  to  one-sixth  of  ore,  chiefly  in  the  form  of  flattened 
spheroids  weighing  from  a  half  to  two  or  three  pounds.  Of 
gray  color  internally,  having  external  concentric  coatings  of  a 
pale  ocher)7  hue. 

In  the  lower  three  or  four  feet  of  the  excavation  where  the 
shale  was  blacker  and  more  bituminous,  the  included  iron 


9 

stones  were  mostly  of  a  dark,  leaden  gray  color,  but  more 
abundant,  about  one-half  of  the  excavated  mass.  (For  analysis 
see  table. ) 

One  variety  of  the  ore  in  the  shales  over  the  ice-house  coal  is 
very  similar  in  appearance  to  the  ore  analyzed  from  the  shales 
over  the  four  inch  coal,  but  has  rather  less  specific  gravity,  viz. 
133;  another  variety  of  a  coarser  texture  and  of  a  lilac  gray 
color,  has  a  specific  gravity  of  3.340,  while  a  third  variety  of  a 
fine  texture,  has  a  specific  gravity  of  3.591.  (See  table.) 

These  ores  will  yield  from  30  to  43  per  cent,  of  pure  iron. 
The  quality  of  iron  which  these  carbonates  produce,  is  similar 
to  the  metal  brought  from  Jackson  and  Lawrence  Counties, 
Ohio,  and  Greeuup  County,  Kentucky.  Where  I  have  seen 
the  best  section  of  the  matrix  of  these  ores,  they  lie  in  uninter- 
rupted bands,  varying  from  one  to  four  inches  thick.  In  the 
ten  feet  of  gray  shales  immediately  overlying  the  ice-house  coal, 
there  are  from  seven  to  eight  bands  which  have  an  average 
thickness  of  two  inches  to  two  inches  and  a  half,  i.  e. ,  about 
one-sixth  of  the  ten  feet  of  ferruginous  shales  may  be  regarded 
as  calcareous  iron-stones. 

Besides  the  above  ores  interstratified  in  the  coal  measures  of 
Gallatin  County,  Hardin  County  affords  extensive  deposits  of 
hydrated  brown  oxide  of  iron  or  hematites,  forcing  the  various 
varieties  known  to  the  iron  masters  under  the  names  of  honey- 
comb ore,  pipe  ore,  pot  ore,  etc.  These  ores  occur  in  a  differ- 
ent geological  formation  from  those  previously  described,  being 
uniformly  in  connection,  though  never  interstratified  with  the 
subcarboniferous  limestone  lying  west  of  the  coal  measures. 

In  this  district  of  Hardin  County,  there  is  a  belt  of  country 
two  or  three  miles  wide,  ranging  in  a  N.  E.  and  S.  S.  W.  curve 
through  these  townships  towards  the  mouth  of  Grand  Pierre 
Creek,  which  is  the  northern  extension  of  the  great  contem- 
poraneous ferruginous  belt,  situated  between  the  Cumberland 
and  Tennessee  Rivers. 

The  ores  of  this  region  of  Illinois  have  only  recently  attracted 
attention.  But  two  furnaces  have  been  established  as  yet  in 
Hardin  County  for  smelting  this  ore,  the  Martha  and  Illinois. 
The  former  of  these  belongs  to  the  Saline  Coal  Co. 


10 

The  ore  banks  of  these  furnaces  are  situated  on  Sections  2, 
3,  n,  and  12,  T.  12,  R.  8.  Facts  which  have  been  disclosed 
during  the  working  of  the  ore  banks  of  the  Martha  furnace, 
situated  on  Sections  2  and  3,  T.  12,  R.  8,  have  most  fully  con- 
firmed an  opinion  which  I  have  long  entertained  in  regard  to 
the  origin  of  this  ore,  which  has  an  important  practical  bearing 
on  the  question  regarding  the  quantity  and  enduring  supply  of 
these  ores  of  Hardin  County. 

It  is  well  known  throughout  the  corresponding  iron  regions  of 
Kentucky  that  the  deposits  are  locally  irregular  as  to  the  quan- 
tity, so  much  so  that  until  the  ore  banks  are  fairly  opened,  it  is 
always  unsafe  to  rely  on  the  amount  of  ore  which  the  ore  bank 
will  furnish,  even  if  the  surface  indications  are  favorable.  Still 
I  had  observed,  in  exploring  this  iron  region  of  Kentucky,  that 
there  was,  nevertheless,  a  remarkable  uniformity  in  the  bear- 
ing of  the  principal  ore  banks,  and  that  the  ore  was  invariably 
found  on  the  declivity  of  hills  which  had  a  nucleus  of  subcar- 
bouiferous  limestone;  and  generally  of  those  particular  beds  of 
that  formation  characterized  by  peculiar  organic  remains,  viz. , 
Lithostrotion  (Stylina)  of  Lesneuer  Syringopora  ramulosa  of 
Gold. 

That,  moreover,  in  no  single  instance  could  the  ore  be  traced 
into  horizontal  beds,  interstratified  with  the  limestone. 

My  inference  from  these  observed  facts,  was,  that  this  ore 
had  its  origin  in  vein  fissures,  or  crevices,  traversing  this  lime- 
stone formation  in  determinate  lines  of  fracture;  that  the  ore 
existed  deep  in  the  interior  of  the  vein  as  specular  oxide  pass- 
ing downward  into  magnetic  oxide;  that  for  a  long  period  of 
time  these  iron  bearing  crevices  in  the  limestone  permeated  by 
heated  carbonated  waters,  which  found  a  vent  at  the  opening 
of  the  fissure,  and  poured  over  the  edges  of  the  adjacent  under- 
lying calcareous  beds  mingling  with  the  debris  and  talcis  formed 
by  the  wear,  disintegration  and  chemical  decomposition  of  the 
exposed  ledges  forming  the  walls  of  the  fissures.  That  these 
mineral  waters,  charged  as  they  were  with  carbonic  acid,  had  a 
solvent  power  on  the  deep-seated  iron  ores,  and  brought  the 
iron  to  the  surface  in  solution  as  bicarbonate  of  the  protoxide, 
in  the  form  of  strong  chalybeate  water,  which  as  it  filtered 
through  the  chert  gravel  fallen  out  from  the  decaying  lime- 
stone, and  permeating  the  ferruginous  clays  and  earths  washed 


out  from  the  crevices,  joints  and  seams  of  the  limestones,  lost 
the  carbonic  acid,  while  the  protoxide  of  iron,  combined  there- 
with, gradually  oxidized  and  consolidated  in  its  passage  down 
the  declivity  of  the  hill,  and  finally  in  filtrated  ore  banks  such 
as  we  now  see  them  more  or  less  rich,  according  to  the  copious- 
ness of  these  ferruginous  waters  and  the  continuance  of  the 
chemical  and  mechanical  action  through  a  longer  or  shorter 
period  of  time.  When  the  chalybeate  waters  dripped  slowly 
into  vacant  places,  it  produced  the  so-called  "  pipe  ore"  a  true 
ferruginous  stalactite,  analogous  in  form,  though  not  in  com- 
position, to  the  calcareous  stalactite  often  seen  pendant  from 
the  roofs  of  caves,  and  having  their  origin  from  dripping  waters 
holding  lime,  instead  of  iron,  in  solution.  When  these  chaly- 
beate w?aters  oozed  through  coarse  gravely  earths  or  lumpy 
clays,  they  often  coated  with  concentric  layers  any  silicious  or 
argillaceous  neclei  intercepting  its  downward  passage,  and 
these  produced  the  various  forms  of  pot  ore.  Again  where  it 
insinuates  itself  through  porous  earths,  we  find  the  honey-comb 
structure  prevalent,  and  the  interstices  numerous  and  closely 
set. 

Such  being  the  process  of  formation,  it  is  easy  to  see  how, 
in  ore  banks  usually  opened  on  hillsides,  where  this  process  of 
infiltration  takes  place  with  greater  or  less  rapidity  and  during 
longer  or  shorter  periods  of  time,  the  amount  of  ore  will  be 
variable  in  quantity  and  various  in  structure,  but  if  these 
secondary. formations  of  iron  ore  can  be  traced  to  their  origin 
in  a  vein  of  good  dimensions  well  filled  with  ore,  then  the 
amount  of  ore  that  can  be  obtained  is  almost  unlimited. 

While  working  ore  banks  of  the  Martha  and  Illinois  furnaces 
on  Sections  2  and  3,  T.  12,  R.  8,  the  ore  was  followed  until  it 
headed  between  well  defined  walls  of  limestone.  On  these  sec- 
tions the  ore  has  been  found  filling  two  distinct  fissures  running 
parallel  to  each  other  with  a  uniform  bearing  of  N.  15  degrees 
E.  On  Section  2  the  width  of  the  fissure  was  found  to  be  24 
feet.  Here  the  ore  was  followed  to  the  depth  of  60  or  70  feet, 
when,  for  the  want  of  the  necessary  power  to  drain  the  accumu- 
lated water,  the  working  wras  discontinued.  On  Section  3,  the 
crevice  measured  from  wall  to  wall  27^/2  feet,  and  the  ore  has 
been  followed  to  the  depth  of  90  feet. 


12 

On  the  side  of  the  hill  lying  to  the  N.  E.  of  the  ore-bearing 
crevice  on  Section  2,  ore  banks  have  been  opened  and  partially 
worked.  Already  the  face  of  the  walls  of  a  crevice  can  be  seen 
on  the  east.  On  taking  the  bearings  across  the  valley  S.  15 
degrees  W.  these  were  found  to  coincide  with  the  "prospect 
hole"  sunk  in  a  shallow  ravine,  having  the  same  bearing  as  it 
rises  the  hillside,  where  ore  has  also  been  discovered,  and  the 
same  course  leads  over  the  brow  of  the  ridge  to  a  locality  where 
abundance  of  fine  pipe  ore  was  obtained  for  the  use  of  the 
Martha  furnace. 

Here,  then,  some  200  yards  to  the  east  of  the  crevice  above 
described  in  Section  2,  is  in  all  probability  another  parallel  ore- 
bearing  fissure. 

The  conclusion  which  I  have  arrived  at  from  these  facts,  is, 
that  though  individual  ore  banks  on  hillsides  may  fail  in  their 
yield,  a  thorough  investigation  will  often  lead  to  the  detection 
of  the  source  of  the  ore  in  regular  fissures  of  the  limestone, 
where  a  more  uniform  and  abundant  supply  may  be  anticipated, 
and  where  it  is  more  concentrated  and  less  mixed  with  silicious 
impurities  and  other  extraneous  matter. 

Subordinate  spurs  thrown  off  from  this  main  millstone-grit 
range,  interlock  with  the  lower  hills  of  the  iron  region.  These 
connected  spurs  are  composed  usually  of  alterations  of  sand- 
stone, limestone  and  shale,  forming  a  transition  series  between 
the  millstone-grit  proper  and  the  massive  limestones  of  the  sub- 
carboniferous  group.  These  intercalated  limestones  are  every- 
where recognized  by  the  presence  of  particular  species  of 
pentremites  and  Archimedes,  and  a  multitude  of  beautiful 
minute  species  of  Terebratula,  Spirifer,  etc. 

The  true  geological  position  of  the  ores  I  have  just  been 
describing,  is  beneath  these  intercalated  masses  of  limestone, 
sandstone  and  shales,  reposing  on,  or  enclosed  in  fissures  of  the 
more  massive  beds  of  limestone  of  the  subcarboniferous  group, 
containing  as  heretofore  remarked,  Stylina,  Syringopora,  along 
with  Bellerophou  Hiulcus,  and  various  curious  forms  of  Gor- 
gonis  and  Retapora. 

These  hydrated  brown  iron  ores  of  the  subcarboniferous 
group  limestone  formation  of  Hardin  County,  Illinois,  are  es- 
sentially composed  of  water  and  peroxide  of  iron,  with  occa- 
sionally a  small  admixture  of  protoxide,  and  insoluble  earthy 
silicates. 


13 

This  ore,  if  economically  worked  in  the  furnace,  should  yield 
from  50  to  56  per  cent,  of  metallic  iron.  The  quality  of  iron 
produced  from  these  hydrated  oxides  of  iron  is  similar  to  the 
iron  from  the  Cumberland  and  Tennessee  Rivers,  in  Kentucky 
and  Tennessee,  and  the  Housatonic  River  in  Connecticut. 

Near  the  Island  Riffle  on  Saline,  the  millstone  grit  appears 
in  full  force,  in  ridges  of  considerable  altitude.  At  the  foot  of 
this  range  is  the  salt  spring,  which  you  were  desirous  to  have 
me  examine.  On  critically  investigating  its  geological  position 
I  discovered  that  it  is  situated  within  a  few  yards  of  a  remark- 
able fault,  which  here  brings  ledges  of  the  subcarboniferous 
limestone  abruptly  to  the  surface,  in  juxtaposition  with  the 
millstone  grit,  and  only  a  few  yards  from  the  fountain  head  of 
the  brine  spring. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  locality  would  be  a  favorable 
situation  for  attaining  by  boring,  a  strong  brine,  within  a 
moderate  distance  of  the  surface;  but  it  is  too  far  removed  from 
the  present  coal  mines  to  be  manufactured  into  salt  by  the  slack 
and  refuse  coal  which  they  supply. 

There  is,  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  coal  mines 
sufficient  evidence  of  the  existence  of  salt-bearing  rocks,  within 
800  or  1,200  feet  of  the  surface,  to  justify  the  expense  of  boring 
after  salt  water,  which,  if  obtained,  could  be  manufactured  to 
great  advantage  in  connection  with  the  coal  business.  A  point 
somewhere  near  to  where  the  mill  road  crosses  the  railroad, 
where  Mr.  Halloway  has  noticed  gaseous  exhalations  emitted, 
would  probably  be  as  good  a  point  to  make  the  trial  as  any 
place  near  the  mines.  From  the  greater  abruptness  of  the  rise 
of  the  strata  after  leaving  the  south  side  of  the  Saline  in  the 
direction  of  the  millstone-grit  range,  I  am  led  to  suspect  the 
existence  of  a  trough — if  not  a  fault  in  the  stratification,  which 
would  arrest  the  filtration  of  waters  along  the  course  of  the  dip, 
to  the  N.  E. 

At  any  rate  it  would  not  be  an  expensive  work  to  test  the 
inference  by  boring  i,ooo  or  1,200  feet,  which  if  successful, 
would  be  a  great  source  of  profit.  Besides  there  is  reason  to 
believe  that  a  greater  thickness  of  salt-bearing  rocks  would  be 
passed  through  near  the  mines,  than  at  the  Island  Riffle,  so 
that  if  the  synclinal  axis  of  the  strata  is  of  a  form  favorable  for 
the  retention  of  water,  more  lasting  sources  of  brine  may  be 
expected  in  this  part  of  the  valley  of  the  Saline. 


Near  the  base  of  the  millstone-grit  range,  on  the  waters  of 
Grand  Pierre  Creek,  I  examined  a  locality  of  potter's  clay, 
derived  from  the  disintegration  of  the  purer  shales,  interposed 
between  the  millstone  grits  and  the  intercalated  limestone 
which  succeed  beneath  the  same  bed  outcrops  on  the  Ohio 
River,  on  the  Company's  property.  The  bed  is  three  or  four 
feet  thick  where  it  is  exposed,  and  though  not  perfectly  free 
from  oxide  of  iron,  is  so  nearly  so  that  it  will  answer  for 
making  the  yellow  Rockingham  ware,  and  the  purest  part 
might  even  be  suitable  for  the  ordinary  white  queensware. 

I  did  not  visit  the  locality  of  the  porcelain  clays  of  Hardin 
and  Pope  Counties.  The  specimens  I  have  seen  is  a  material 
of  similar  appearance  to  the  porcelain  earths  found  below  Cape 
Girardeau  and  elsewhere,  in  Missouri,  which  produces  a  self- 
glazing  ware  that  can  hardly  be  distinguished  from  the  "marble 
ware"  now  much  in  vogue,  except  that  it  is  rather  more  unc- 
tious  to  the  touch,  and  more  adhesive  to  the  tongue.  I  have 
specimens  of  this  self -glazing  ware,  made  from  the  native  ma- 
terial, taken  from  a  bed  on  the  property  of  R.  D.  Owen  &  Bro., 
on  the  Mississippi,  a  few  miles  below  Cape  Girardeau. 


NEW  HARMONY,  December  2,  1856. 
GEO.  E.  SELLERS,  ESQ. 

DEAR  SIR: — Since  I  submitted  my  report  on  the  mineral  lands  of  the  Saline 
Coal  Company,  I  have  had  occasion  to  visit  some  of  the  most  extensive  coal 
and  iron  districts  of  the  Alleghany  region  of  Pennsylvania,  and  am  more  fully 
impressed  than  ever  with  the  great  value  of  the  Saline  property.  Indeed  the 
amount  of  coal  on  that  property,  in  a  given  space,  accessible  above  the  water 
courses,  is  greater  than  I  have  seen  in  any  part  of  these  districts  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. Yet  I  am  convinced  there  is  more  iron  on  your  property  than  there  is 
coal  to  work  it  up  into  wrought  iron. 

Taking  the  total  amount  of  iron  ore  on  the  property,  I  consider  there  is  a 
larger  supply  than  the  very  heavy  deposits  which  supply  the  extensive  furnaces 
of  the  Great  Western  Iron  Works,  and  by  a  union  of  your  carbonates  of  the  coal 
measures  with  your  hematitic  ores  of  the  Martha  ore  banks,  you  will  undoubtedly 
be  able  to  produce  nearly  one-half  as  much  more  iron  in  the  same  time  as  can 
be  turned  out  at  the  Great  Western,  with  no  more  blast  furnaces  and  the  same 
number  of  hands.  If  so,  cast  iron  can  be  produced  at  the  Saline  at  least  a 
fourth  cheaper  than  at  the  above  iron  works. 

Since  the  publication  of  the  report  on  the  Saline  property,  several  persons 
have  visited  the  Martha  ore  banks  with  a  view  to  investigate  the  amount  of  iron 
ore,  all  have  returned  fully  satisfied  that  there  is  an  inexhaustible  supply  of  the 


15 

very  best  quality  of  hydrated  oxide,  and  hematitic  ores.  One  of  the  parties, 
probably  better  able  to  judge  of  these  matters  than  any,  from  his  intimate 
acquaintance  with  this  property,  as  well  as  all  the  most  important  iron  and  coal 
regions  of  the  country,  regards  the  Saline  lands  as  the  most  valuable  coal  and 
iron  property  at  present  known  in  the  West. 

I  take  this  occasion  to  inform  you  that  our  chemical  investigations  on  western 
coal  show  that  the  five  foot  bed  equivalent  to  your  main  bed  on  the  Saline, 
comes  nearer  in  its  properties,  determined  by  ultimate  analysis,  to  the  Youghe- 
gheny  coal,  than  any  other  western  coal  yet  examined — a  very  important  fact, 
since  this  is  the  most  universally  applicable  coal  in  the  West  for  almost  all  pur- 
poses, whether  it  be  cooking,  gas-making,  or  domestic  use,  or  making  steam. 

Yours  truly, 

(Signed)  D.  D.  OWEN. 


EXTRACT  OF  REPORT  OF  J.  M.  WOODWARD,  C.  E.,  ANALYSIS 

OF  COAL. 


No.  I.     4  feet.     Volatile  matter, 
Coke, 


100.00 

Swells  up  in  coking;  not  disposed  to  coke  in  burning.     Fixed  carbon  in  coke, 
54.45.     Ashes  white,  n.oo. 

No.  2.     3  ft.  6  in.     Volatile  matter,      -------       36.6 

Coke,     --- 63.4 

Fixed  carbon  in  coke,  54.4.     Swells  up  still  more  than  the  preceding  in  cok- 
ing, and  forms  a  cellular  coke. 


No.  3.     6  feet.     Volatile  matter,  ----- 

Coke, 
Swells  but  little  in  coking.     Fixed  carbon  in  coke,  59.5. 


38.0 
62.0 


No.  4.     4  feet.     Volatile  matter, 35.6 

Coke,                             '-  64.4 

Superior  gas  coal.     Specific  gravity,   1,309.     Fixed  carbon  in  coke,  60.4. 
Ashes  light  gray,  4. 


No.  5.     3  feet.     Volatile  matter, 

Coke, 
Swells  in  coking,  does  not  coke  in  burning.     Fixed  carbon  in  coke,  50.1. 


34-9 
65.1 


These  are  crucible  analyses,  but  in  pits  an  increase  of  5  to  10 
per  cent,  of  fixed  carbon  is  produced,  and  the  6  feet  bed  produced 
69.60  of  coke,  a  hard,  close  coke  with  metallic  lustre  and  a  clear 
ring  sound  which  would  bear  up  the  charge  of  any  blast  furnace. 


16 

'RON  ORE. 

The  iron  ore  upon  these  lands  exists  in  well  defined  fissures  between  walls  of 
limestone  running  parallel  to  each  other,  with  a  uniform  bearing  of  N.  15  deg.  E. 

These  fissures  are  about  twenty  four  to  twenty-eight  feet  in  width,  and  have 
been  followed  to  the  depth  of  ninety  feet,  with  evidence  of  being  hundreds  of 
feet  in  depth,  and  five  miles  in  length.  Two  of  these  fissures  are  estimated  to 
yield  42,820,800  tons  of  sesque  o.xide  iron  ore. 

The  product  of  this  ore  at  the  Mlinois  furnace  has  been  from  60  to  62  per 
cent,  of  metallic  iron,  and  is  free  fiom  phosphorous  or  sulphur. 

(Signed)    J.  M.  WOODWARD,  C.  E. 


The  following  extracts  from  letters  lately  written  by  Robert 
Reid,  Esq.,  who  is  now  and  iias  been  for  many  years  the  Super- 
intendent of  the  Saline  proy;erty,  will  be  of  interest: 

The  distance  from  Shawneetown  to  the  Martha  Iron  Mines  is  twenty  miles. 

The  salt  works  upon  the  Saline  property  were  formerly  worked  by  the  Gov- 
ernment, and  would  now  pay,  if  o  'tied  again,  as  the  water  could  now  be  boiled 
by  coal  at  a  much  cheaper  rate  tha;i  py  wood  as  formerly. 

The  Saline  property  (coal)  in  tbaf  Counties  of  Hardin  and  Gallatin  contains 
6,680  acres,  and  the  "Martha"  p.Aperty  (iron)  in  Hardin  County,  consists  of 
3,840  acres.  Of  the  coal  property  there  is  now  rented  for  cultivation  1,260 
acres,  paying  an  annual  rental  of  $2,770.  300  acres  more  will  come  under 
rental  from  1886  to  ijBgo. 

There  are  five  seams  of  coal  upo  >  the  property,  easily  accessible,  which  con- 
tain an  aggregate  of  21  feet  2  inches  of  coal.  From  what  is  known  as  the  fire 
pot  seam,  which  was  worked  by  a  slope,  about  15  acres  of  coal  has  been  taken. 
As  this  slope  has  been  allowed  to  .  al  in,  another  would  have  to  be  driven  for 
about  1, 800  feet,  which  would  op^-r  up  about  300  acres  and  produce  2,163,000 
tons. 

A  shaft  on  Section  35  is  118  fee;  deep,  in  which  there  are  two  seams  of  coal; 
the  first  at  go  feet,  which  is  three  feet  thick;  and  28  feet  below  this  there  is 
another  seam  of  four  feet.  From  this  shaft  about  10  acres  have  now  been 
worked.  No  work  has  been  done  in  the  shaft  since  1874.  It  is  now  filled 
with  water,  but  is  in  good  condition  for  work  when  the  water  is  removed.  The 
cost  of  putting  both  the  slope  and  s  \aft  in  good  order,  with  all  needed  machin- 
ery, would  be  about  $17,000. 

The  iron  property,  which  has  been  fully  described  by  Doctor  Owen,  has  three 
crevices  running  N.  150  E.  The  western  crevice  has  been  worked  extensively, 
but  only  on  the  surface;  this  is  16  :eet  wide.  The  one  east  of  all  I  did  open 
and  went  down  in  it  50  feet,  when  it  was  20  feet  wide;  14  feet  of  it  ore  and  6 
feet  small  ore  and  lime.  Some  yeais  since  this  one  was  examined  by  an  expert 
from  Springfield,  who  pronounced  i.  a  good  Bessemer  ore. 


DEMCO 
PAMPHLET  BINDER 


UNIVERSFTY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 


